Best game yesterday was Portsmouth vs. Tottenham

In an entertaining display Saturday, Tottenham started their season well in a 2-0 win over Portsmouth. It was their first away win since December last year.

At home, Portsmouth stood a decent chance with that away record, but the only downpour bigger than the rain was the shower of new players in their lineup. Although they had their fair share of chances, virtually half of their team was missing from last season and it was their undoing. Portsmouth need 10 or 12 games together to get their chemistry sorted out. The first goal came just before the half from a panickey Andy Griffin clearance ending up in the net for an own goal.

Tottenham had good movement and showed consistency throughout the match. Generally, the back four kept the pressure off the keeper and Michael Carrick kept the pressure off the back four. With confidence to attack Tottenham opened up play with more and more utility from midfield.

The second half began well, even with some torrential rain, usually a quality killer, but this time not. The match kept its shape and Tottenham continued to apply pressure on Portsmouth.

Laurent Robert, who throughout the match delivered a number of great balls, really relished the chance to have such a central role. Lua Lua is going to get bored of this though, on the opposite wing he realized Robert is not known for switching play.

On the whole, Portsmouth worked hard but were the more uncertain; Tottenham crept into overall control off the match. Instinctively, Jermain Defoe capped his good game with a quality finish on 64 minutes. He reacted first to a Mido clearance and, left footed, shot across goal and made it look easy, ending Portsmouth’s hopes for an equalizer.

It was a good performance from Tottenham, missing Ledley King and new signing Edgar Davids; it was win which showed they have depth.